Despite not having any day one picks, the Browns expect their 2022 draft selections contribute to a winning team.
And the Browns apparently aren’t alone.
Chad Reuter of NFL.com came out with his “All-Rookies” list, and two familiar names appear among the names.
No, it’s not preseason standout David Bell.
It’s not fellow third-round pick Alex Wright, either.
Rather, the two Browns on Reuter’s list are Perrion Winfrey and Cade York.
Big Leg Cade
Here’s Reuter’s rationale behind including the fourth-round kicker in his list:
“York’s leg strength has already impressed people in Cleveland. He made 15 of 19 attempts (78.9 percent) from 50 or more yards during his LSU career, which is the sort of consistency from distance that the Browns need going up against fellow AFC North kickers Chris Boswell (Pittsburgh), Evan McPherson (Cincinnati) and Justin Tucker (Baltimore).”
Reuter makes an excellent point: the kicking creme de la creme exists in the AFC North.
How many playoff games did the Bengals win en route to a Super Bowl appearance on the shoelaces of Evan McPherson?
Fireworks aren’t needed if you watch Cade York kick footballs #Browns pic.twitter.com/0nDsz3Ttsf
— 🤎Andrew Berry🧡 (@notbrownsgm) July 5, 2022
Another reason why York’s name is on Reuter’s list?
Need.
The Browns had one of the worst kicking situations last season with Chase McLaughlin.
His 67 rating was 34th in the league, while his field goal percentage of 71.4% was 40th.
As a reminder, there are only 32 teams in the NFL, meaning at least a few teams fielded two kickers better than Cleveland’s starter.
Even worse, the three other kicking rivals in the division that Reuter mentioned each finished top-eight in terms of rating.
Because of that need, York will have every opportunity to shine with the Browns.
And one of the keys to standing out is getting playing time.
York should have no shortage of that.
Winfrey’s Show
Just like York, Winfrey should have ample opportunity to prove his worth this season.
He’ll likely start on the bench behind Jordan Elliot and Taven Bryan, but neither one of those are lights-out tackles over their respective careers.
That should open up the door for Winfrey.
And Reuter agrees:
“Even if Winfrey doesn’t win a starting job coming out of training camp, I expect the Browns to get him into the game in sub-packages regularly early in the season to attack the backfield. His playing time should increase as he progresses through his rookie campaign, in which he’ll accumulate somewhere in the range of six to eight tackles for loss and three to five sacks for the year.”
If the Browns get three to five sacks from Winfrey this season, it will be a hugely successful campaign for the rookie.
PERRION WINFREY. 😤 pic.twitter.com/omex2yOU1J
— 𝕆𝕂𝕃𝔸ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔸-𝕍𝕊-𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 (@soonergridiron) November 28, 2021
But the fact Winfrey’s name is mentioned in this list is also surprising.
Consider the three edge rushers Reuter named to this list: George Karlaftis, Aiden Hutchinson, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Each was taken in the first round.
And Winfrey’s name is mentioned whereas others like Jordan Davis (No. 13 to the Eagles) and Devonte Wyatt (No. 28 to the Packers) are not mentioned.
Expect Winfrey to ride that preseason buzz all the way through the summer and into the season.
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